Students report bullying is a problem

The new school year raises an old problem, but an emerging statewide initiative hopes to deliver a timeless solution.

While bullying might seem like old news to adults, the situation is far more urgent to kids. Seventy percent of students between the ages of 12 and 15 describe bullying as a "big problem" at school. Along with fearing the bully, students also are afraid to report bullying behavior. One national survey discovered that 61 percent of students who were bullied did not report the incident to school staff because they believed little or no action would be taken, and they feared that doing so would only worsen the situation.

Approximately one-third of students between grades 6 and 10 have been involved in bullying - either as the bully, as the target of bullying or both. Bullies strike when they see an imbalance of power or strength, leading to taunting, intimidation, physical violence and social exclusion. Males are more likely to be hit, slapped or pushed, and females are more likely to have rumors or sexual comments made about them.

Research also has found that children are more likely to be involved in bullying in schools where there is a lack of adult supervision during breaks, where teachers and students are indifferent to or accept bullying behavior, and where rules against bullying are not consistently enforced.

Interestingly, one national study found that students in smaller classes are bullied more often because bullies have fewer targets to choose from.

Since 2005, Indiana law has required schools to prohibit bullying on and off school grounds, at school activities, while traveling to or from school and while using school property or equipment. Clarian Health, with hospitals and medical centers in nearly two dozen Indiana communities, is beginning a statewide effort to help schools meet these requirements.

"We conducted a survey of school systems in Indiana and how they perceive bullying in their schools," explained Sarah Ketterer, program coordinator for the Clarian Bullying Prevention Program. "We found that very few schools (that responded to the survey) have a comprehensive program that can get more parents and more adults involved (to prevent bullying), and that's what we're trying to do."

School-wide campaigns to end bullying often are more effective than having individual teachers or counselors work with individual students. The most successful strategies involve changing the school climate by consistently raising awareness about bullying, increasing adult supervision of students and by setting and enforcing clear rules against bullying. Everyone associated with a school needs to be involved including teachers, principals, students and parents as well as custodians, cafeteria workers and bus drivers.

This all-encompassing approach is the ultimate goal of the Clarian initiative, which wants bullying to receive the same high level of importance as other health and safety programs. "There is programming in schools on fitness and nutrition," Ketterer said. "We want to get to that same level where the awareness of bullying is very high so that bullying can be prevented."

Failing to do so can have lifelong consequences. Bullied children have poorer physical and mental health than their peers - not only as children, but also as they grow into adulthood. Academic work and school attendance suffer when a child has been bullied. In addition, children who are bullied are likely to have lower self-esteem and higher rates of depression, loneliness, anxiety and suicidal thoughts than other children.

Negative outcomes also afflict bullies. Bullying often is a marker for more serious violent behaviors including illegally carrying a weapon, frequent fighting and fighting related injury. One national study found that 60 percent of boys who were bullies in middle school had at least one criminal conviction by the age of 24.

"There is a great need for bullying prevention," Ketterer notes. "Bullying has always been around, but research is linking those who are bullied and those who bully to being involved in crime and having other issues later in life. That's why we need to prevent it now."

Adults can easily think of bullying as just "kids being kids," or as an old problem that cannot be solved. The bullies hope we continue thinking that way.

Bill Stanczykiewicz is President & CEO of the Indiana Youth Institute. He can be reached at iyi@iyi.org.